EP REVIEW: What A Wonderful Experience – Tropic Gold

TROPIC GOLD are incredibly DIY; guitarist Joshua Lee handles the filming and editing of the visual side of the band, as well as the recording and production of the music. Since their formation in 2019, the Suffolk-via-Essex quartet have become best known for their dark and moody songs, which could equally be played in a dingy underground venue or at an arena show. They have released a handful of singles as well as 2022’s Do You Feel It? EP and now they start a new chapter with What A Wonderful Experience.

From the opening guitar riff in Adrenaline, it is clear that TROPIC GOLD mean business. The heavy riffs in the verses and the electronic elements in the choruses blend together well. It doesn’t sound jarring, probably thanks to the fact that the band themselves are involved in the production and recording process which makes the album sound more organic. Maniac does unfortunately sound quite similar to the previous song, which includes the electronic/heavy riffs and distorted vocals. This is a shame because it feels like it is trying to reciprocate the success of the predecessor, and ends up just sounding like the band are repeating themselves.

Damn(ed) rectifies this; it takes a slightly slower approach compared to the faster pace and in your face feel of the first two songs and it is a relief to hear a somewhat calmer side of the band. This continues with Get Over It, a mid-paced rock song. The same is true of Feel Okay, but it focuses more on the electronic side of things; whilst the rock parts are still there, alongside some post-hardcore elements, by focusing on the electronic parts, the band are embracing different genres, which could widen out their future sound. This continues on closer DTTTH, where the synths which have featured on the entire record take centre stage. They are evident in the chorus and the verses, with guitars, bass and drums smoothly blended into the background.

Admittedly, you could say the pacing of this EP is a little jagged. The songs at the start are very fast, and then the EP slows down after that, and whilst the mid-tempo tracks do even things out they may be a case of too little too late. But whilst it isn’t perfect, What A Wonderful Experience is a lot of fun. It’s the start of an exciting new chapter for the band, as they experiment with synths more and do so in a non-jarring way by introducing them in the first song and slowly increasing their involvement until the end. Furthermore, as TROPIC GOLD are 100 percent DIY, they are able to control where they go next. It is still early days for them, but the future is bright.

Rating: 7/10

What A Wonderful Experience is set for release on October 6th via UNFD.

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